Minor MLB Transactions: 3/15/16

Angels lefty Rob Rasmussen has elected to retire, per a club announcement (via J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group, on Twitter, who also had an interesting recent profile on the southpaw). According to MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez, via Twitter, the UCLA grad is off to pursue a business degree. The 26-year-old Rasmussen logged 26 2/3 innings with the Blue Jays and Mariners over the past two seasons, though he struggled in 2015 after a nice 2014 debut. Originally a second-round pick of the Marlins, Rasmussen’s career will come to a close with a 3.71 ERA in the minors to complement his small sample of big league work.

Former big leaguer Jeff Kobernus has joined the indy league Lancaster Barnstormers, Jason Bristol of Pennsylvania’s CBS 21 reports (Twitter link). The club confirmed the move on Twitter and also announced that it will bring back righty Mark Lamm, who has also pitched recently in the upper minors in the Braves system. The 27-year-old Kobernus tallied 44 plate appearances with the 2013-14 Nationals and spent an injury-shortened season in the Giants system last year. He’s a lifetime .295/.354/.375 hitter at the Triple-A level and will hope to jump back into affiliated ball with a strong showing on the independent circuit.